Automobiles have long utilized door lock mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access to the vehicles. The earliest such mechanisms were purely mechanical in nature. To actuate these purely mechanical mechanisms, a user would manually utilize a lever, a post, and/or a tumbler lock to move the mechanism between a locked state and an unlocked state through a series of linkages. More recently, electric solenoids and/or motors have been added to such mechanical mechanism to allow actuation of the mechanism between states via a switch and/or “key-fob”.
Even more recently, automobiles have been implemented without the manual linkages between levers, posts, and/or tumbler locks and the door lock mechanism. Instead, actuation of the mechanism between locked and unlocked states is purely electrically controlled. However, some issues with this approach have been identified. For instance, it is difficult to ascertain the locked or unlocked state of the door without the lever or post, as these mechanical devices traditionally provided a visual indication of the locked or unlocked state. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an electric door latch system that provides indication of the locked or unlocked state of the doors.
Legacy mechanical door lock mechanisms also suffer security and convenience issues. For example, if a door is unlocked, an intruder could open the door while the automobile is occupied and stopped. Conversely, if the doors are locked, then a quick exit by a passenger is difficult. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide additional security to the driver and passengers of the vehicle while maintaining ease of egress from the vehicle.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.